Open Spaces

Looking for an exciting read this summer? If you are, we’ve got something to share with you: America’s WILD READ is a virtual book discussion meant to engage and inspire people to connect with nature. This popular literary discussion forum is a project of the Fish and Wildlife Service's National Conservation Training Center and hosted by the Friends of NCTC.

Building on a successful inaugural read of noted biologist E.O. Wilson’s novel, “Anthill”, America's WILD READ is moving beyond the underworld domain of ants to the expansive panorama of wolves and their prey in the American West.

For the month of August, the WILD READ will feature Montana writer Christina Eisenberg’s book, “The Wolf's Tooth: Keystone Predators, Trophic Cascades, and Biodiversity.” The author herself will engage readers with questions and discussion that examines the role that top-tier predators like sea otters, sharks, and large land mammals play in influencing ecosystems. Applying the concept of a "trophic cascade," Eisenberg’s book unpeels the inner workings of ecosystems -- how predators and prey mutually survive and how nutrients flow in such intertwined relationships.

Author Cristina Eisenberg, Image Credit: Brent Steiner

Eisenberg will be moderating discussion and has posted some questions to get the conversation started. Visit America’s WILD READ today at www.wildread.blogspot.com to strike up a conversation with the author, Cristina Eisenberg!